The government’s abuse continues.

As you may know now from reading my earlier blog posts the Quabbin reservoir is a living treatment to abuse of power by the government. Unfortunately, it continued to be abused by testing during WWII and today with rattle snakes.

Much like the rest of the nation in the 1930’s the swift valley was gearing up for war in Europe. Army begain using the Quabbin as a Training grounds for troops patripating in war games. What buildings were left were used to pratice raids and manuvers for the GI’s. The Military for some 2 years had complete control over the Quabbin. After the Army had used the Quabbin for its training the Air force began using it for training.

The Quabbin now became an airforce bombing zone and airforce artillery practice. The air force gearing up for bombing runs for WWII began bombing the towns and buildings as practice. Artillery and mortars would also be set up near the towns and they would rain down on the valley. It’s safe to say that the towns of the shift valley went out with a bang.

The Quabbin has recently been selected by the government of Massachusetts to rebuild the timber rattlesnake population. The government plans on reintroducing rattlesnakes onto an island known as Mt. Zion because of its height. Many people around the Quabbin oppose the plan. Such as my father, he said “Westen Mass needs to stand up to Boston and tell them were done being their testing grounds.” and “it’s all fine for us to have to deal with rattlesnakes but it would be sure be different if we put them iBostonon common”.

I think that because Western Massachusettes is so under rep[resented on Beacon hill in the Statehouse that it gives legislators more of a chance to take advantage of us. The Quabbinwent from 4 nice little towns to a battleground. Then it became a body of water and now it’s becoming a rattlesnake breeding den. I just think this is so wrong and it would indeed be seen differently if these things happened to the city of Boston.

The Abuse of Eminent Domain

All across the united state eminent domain abuse continues to be an issue. People are losing rightfully owned property because the government wants it back. This is an outrage and needs to be stopped. This is like saying that after you buy a computer from Apple and you download all your music pictures and other content apple emails you and tells you that they’re taking your computer back and only giving you 3/4 of what you paid for it. This is wrong and to show how horrible it can get I’ve come up with a few real stories of actual eminent domine abuse.

In Palm Beach Florida John and Wendy Zamecnik’s neighborhood had been picked to become a new golf course. Over 300 homes were bought up by the developers.Most families moved willingly but a few chose not to, including the Zamecnik’s. They refused time after time the offers and eventually they were taken to court and forced out of the home they loved. To make matters worse the developers cut their losses and the golf course was never built.

The next example is that of reverend Fred Jenkins who had great plans for his homestead in Hempstead New York. In 1997 he spent a handsome sum of money on a  nice fixer-upper-house so he could move his congregation out of its basement in a moddest home to bis new property. Jenkins was never notified that the property was being designated for redevelopment 3 years before his purchase. He and his followers spend thousands of hours and dollars in renovations to the church that would prove to be pointless. The town only offered him 50,000 less than what he had purchased the property for. He was left with an empty heart, wallet, but gained a mortgage.

In Bremerton Washington, the residents surrounding a sewage treatment plant requested something be done about the smell. The city started the process of condemning property around the plant claiming that it would be used to “create an odor easement”. The city did nothing about the smell. Instead, as soon at the eminent domain invocation was complete the property was sold. The proporty was bought for 2 million dollars by a car dealership.

These are just a few example of how the government has taken advantage of the people of this great nation legally. There are thousands of more stories from across the nation just like the ones mentioned in this post. The government must be stopped and its time the people told them so.

Fishing over a dead town

 

They say that home is where your heart is and I believe this statement to be true. My heart belongs to the crystal clear water of the Quabbin reservoir. All my life the Quabbin has been there. It was there for many a lazy afternoon eating venison salami with good friends off the back of the boat. It was also a scary place where quick decisions and large quantities of swear words were used after a monster salmon slips off a line.

I have a deep appreciation for the Quabbin and for the wildlife that calls it home after it was flooded. The Massachusettes Division of fisheries and wildlife work hard to make sure that the Quabbin is in good health and remain filled with diversity. At the Quabbin, you’ll expect to catch Lake trout(Toag/Lakers), Brown trout, Rainbow trout, Brook trout, Chain pickerel, and both large and small mouth Bass. My favorite to fish for is known as the Freshwater landlocked salmon just like the one in the picture below.

History and research of the Quabbin and eminent domain.

The construction of the Quabbin reservoir was necessary despite being morally wrong. The Quabbin was vital for the expansion of Boston and to keep the city supplied with clean water. The people of the Quabbin (formally known as the swift river valley) had their history and memories stolen.

The year was 1930, The reservoirs that supplied water to Boston were becoming overused and the population of the city was continuing to grow. (The Making of Quabbin’s reservoir) The legislature of Massachusetts decided that they would need to figure out a way to keep the ever growing city supplied with water. A plan was proposed to construct a man-made reservoir. A solution was proposed and named the “swift river conservation act” this would mean the swift river will be dammed off and the swift river valley located in western Massachusetts will be deconstructed and cleared.(Quabbin and Ware) As a result of this, the Quabbin was constructed in 1936 and finally filled in 1939 to serve as a drinking water supply to the city of Boston Massachusetts. (Quabbin and Ware)The Quabbin reservoir became the biggest lake in Massachusetts and at this point in time the biggest man-made reservoir in the world. The Quabbin holds an astonishing 412 billion gallons of water. (Quabbin and Ware)With which it supplies the city of Boston and the towns of  Cambridge, Watertown, Brookline, and a number of others with fresh water. The Towns (That Were Lost So Boston Could Have Clean Water) The water is moved the over 100 miles from western Massachusetts through the Wachusett reservoir and into Boston via the massive underground tunnel called the Quabbin aqueduct system.(The Making of Quabbin reservoir)

The Swift valley from which the Quabbin originated from was at the time was home to 4 individual towns. Dana, Enfield, Prescott, and Greenwich. (Under Quabbin) The towns were all reconstructed and the residents of each were forced to relocate. The government took their homes and land through the 8 amendment of the constitution. In this text, the constitution states that ”nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.”(Fifth Amendment) This effectively saying that the government reserves the right to express eminent domain onto its citizens as long as they are paid to leave. The people of the 4 towns were given the market value to which was determined by the government and asked to leave their homes.

The decision by Beacon Hill to condemn the swift valley was morally wrong. The people of the swift valley had been there for a real long time. The town of Enfield was founded in 1819 and was over 111 years old when it was disbanded by the government. (Enfield) This was enough for 3 generations to grow up and live in an area. All the memories of the town of Enfield were destroyed and washed away from these people.

The people of the Quabbin weren’t adequately compensated for their homes and property. The government only looked at what the property around the house was worth. This means that an individual who owned a golf course was paid significantly more for their property than a person with the same amount of property that was used for farmland. This didn’t hold true for people who owned places of business. (Quabbin Reservoir Documentary) Asses of the property such as gas pumps, warehouses, lumber cutting machines, or store space were not considered into the purchase of the property.  

The sacred grounds were violated and the dead were disturbed. All 34 cemeteries in the valley were required to be moved. (Quabbin Reservoir) The people of the Quabbin had to watch as their loved ones were unearthed and moved to a new place. This must have been horrible to watch and brought back memories that most people would want to forget, this violates all kinds of thinking. As a human being we bury our dead, once a person is put to rest they should remain that way forever.

The construction of the Quabbin also had a huge impact on the environment. In order for the valley to be filled with water, it must be clean cut and all its timber removed. The total amount of land cleared was around 24,000 acres.(Quabbin and Ware) This had a tremendous impact on the landscape at the time and the land was forever changed when it was flooded.

The construction of the Quabbin also came at the height of the great depression, I time when jobs were few and far in between in western Massachusetts. The construction of the quabbin wasn’t an opportunity for employment for the community it shattered. Most of the jobs were given to people from the city, most which were educated men new to manual labor and no experience in logging.(Quabbin Reservoir Documentary) The quabbin also closed the railroad that connected Athol, the Swift Valley, and Springfield. So even the people to took the train to Athol or Springfield to who would now have to give up their jobs for Boston to have its water. (Quabbin Reservoir Documentary)

The people of Boston should know where their water comes from and be thanks for the sacrifices the two thousand people made with their homes and their property to fill the valley they once called theirs so that Boston could have a drinking water supply. The Quabbin was necessary to the growth of Boston but was still morally wrong.

History: Quabbin and Ware – MWRA.” http://www.mwra.state.ma.us/04water/html/hist5.htm. Accessed 14 Mar. 2017.

 

“The Making of quabbin reservoir – Digital Scholarship @UNLV.” http://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1037&context=iste. Accessed 14 Mar. 2017.

“Fifth Amendment | Wex Legal Dictionary / Encyclopedia | LII / Legal ….” https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/fifth_amendment. Accessed 14 Mar. 2017.

 

The Towns That Were Lost So Boston Could Have Clean Water ….” 14 May. 2014, http://news.wgbh.org/post/towns-were-lost-so-boston-could-have-clean-water. Accessed 14 Mar. 2017.

 

Video: Under Quabbin | Watch WGBY Documentaries Online | WGBY ….” http://video.wgby.org/video/2365046325/. Accessed 14 Mar. 2017.

Enfield (Mass.) – Special Collections and University Archives – UMass ….” http://scua.library.umass.edu/ead/mums010. Accessed 14 Mar. 2017.

Quabbin Reservoir Documentary – YouTube.” 20 Oct. 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuerxmlFG8k. Accessed 14 Mar. 2017.

“Quabbin Reservoir – Mass.Gov.” http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dcr/massparks/region-central/quabbin-reservoir.html. Accessed 14 Mar. 2017.

Resorces page

Picture of Sgt. Brighenti of the Mass Environmental Police and myself on the Quabbin revisor last summer.

https://nationalparalegal.edu/public_documents/courseware_asp_files/realProperty/RightsandDuties/EminentDomain.asp

http://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1037&context=iste

https://www3.amherst.edu/magazine/issues/06spring/quabbin/

http://video.wgby.org/video/2365046325/

http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dcr/massparks/region-central/quabbin-reservoir.html

http://www.mwra.state.ma.us/04water/html/hist5.htm

http://athollibrary.org/n/1695/Uses-of-the-Quabbin-Reservoir-During-World-War-2

http://mentalfloss.com/article/63514/7-maddening-examples-eminent-domain

http://www.mwra.state.ma.us/04water/html/wsupdate.htm

http://www3.amherst.edu/~ccsp08/jgroup/reservoir.html